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46 | November 30, 2017 | The Lockport Legend SPORTS lockportlegend.com Porters boys bowling topples Andrew by 260 pins LTHS has four bowlers shoot over 400 for two-game scores Randy Whalen Freelance Reporter There will be a story to tell at the 2020-2021 Lockport Township winter sports banquet. That will be of the first ball thrown by freshman Jim Kontos last week in his first boys bowling varsity start. A gutter ball. “If I’m still coach here in three years, I will tell that story at the winter awards banquet,” Lockport coach Ron Davis said. “His first ball was a gutter ball, and he picked his game up from there. He has the ability to strike. He had four open frames on the day and still did very well.” Kontos sure did, registering a two-game total of 435 (213, 222) and being one of four Porters with a 400 or better score as they toppled Andrew 2,064-1,804 in a SouthWest Suburban Conference dual meet on Nov. 21 at Strike and Spare II in Lockport. Senior Alec Buchhaas bowled an entirely clean two games and led the way with a 453 series (238, 215), as Lockport (4-2, 3-1) remained among the conference leaders in the regular season. “He did very well for his first varsity match,” Buchhaas said of Kontos. “We have a lot of young guys, and we’re doing well so far. We’ve become a team, and we try for that balance.” A three-year starter who was brought up to varsity as a freshman, Buchhaas is glad to be the seasoned veteran on this season’s squad. He polished off the opening game with six-straight strikes and opened the second game with three more. Of his spares, which he picked all of them up, Buchhaas had to convert one pin on seven occasions, and a pair of pins on two others. “I’m glad to take the leadership spot; I’ve been waiting for that,” Buchhaas said. “Everyone just hopes to keep [the good season] up. We’ve been successful, and going to state is the goal every year. We have another really good group.” Junior Ian Ditter with a 415 series (194, 221), senior Mitch Gajda with a 400 series (225, 175) that included a turkey two days before Thanksgiving to polish off the opening game and junior Evan Pleshar with a 361 series (173, 188) rounded out the Porters’ scores. “It is good to have Alec as a seasoned anchor man,” Davis said of Buchhaas. “We placed sixth out of 44 teams at the Plainfield North Invite [on Nov. 18], and that’s not bad at all. We’re figuring out where the chips are going to fall. But I’ve been impressed with what we’ve got so far.” The state tournament is just over a month away. Lockport has made it to the state finals the past five seasons, including winning the state title in 2013, and the team hopes to qualify again. The Thunderbolts (3-4, 0-3) saw a seven-season state qualifying streak end last season. That stretch included a state championship (2012) and a second-place finish (2014). Against the Porters, Andrew was led by junior Trent Smith with a 379 total (184, 195), who had a trio of strikes to open the second game and fired a final strike to end it. Lockport’s Evan Pleshar throws a practice ball prior to a match against Andrew Nov. 21 at Strike & Spare II in Lockport. Photos by Adam Jomant/22nd Century Media Junior Rich Payton followed with a 374 (195, 179), Louis Kerfman had a 364 (202, 162), fellow senior Ethan Kosche shot a 345 (167, 178) and junior Jeff Serafini with a 342 (172, 170) rounded out the T-Bolt scores. “We just don’t have the depth,” Andrew coach Mark Lobes said of this season’s squad. “We only have two seniors in this group. Two years from now, we should have some freshmen that are phenomenal. “But we still have time to prepare this group for January. Our goal is to get the team out of the regional, get to the sectional and see what happens.” The Porters closed last week by participating at the Plainfield South Invite on Friday, Nov. 24 at Town and Country Lanes in Joliet. The Porters come together as a team before the match against Andrew. There they placed seventh overall. Buchhaas (1,269) placed sixth individually, and senior Keith Pintoy (1,204) was 21st overall. This week was slated to bring a SWSC Blue matchup against Bolingbrook on Tuesday, Nov. 28, at Brunswick Zone in Woodridge. This Thursday, Nov. 30 at 4:30 p.m. is a home nonconference dual meet against Plainfield South at Strike and Spare II. This Saturday, Dec. 2 at 8:30 a.m., Lockport travels to the Oak Forest Bengal Invite at Oak Forest Bowl.
lockportlegend.com SPORTS the Lockport Legend | November 30, 2017 | 47 fastbreak Girls Basketball Lockport beats Richards to run record to 3-0 Adam Jomant/22nd Century Media 1st and 3 Lockport boys basketball comes up short against Providence 1. First game of campaign The Celtics boys basketball team beat Lockport 45- 35 on Nov. 20 in an opening round game in the WJOL Thanksgiving Classic. It was the season opener for both teams. 2. Leading scorers for each team Adam Taylor led the way with 11 points for the Celtics, and senior Porters forward Deondre Cooper had a gamehigh 13 points. 3. Plenty of chances to play Both teams used a number of players in the first game. A dozen players saw time on the court for the Porters, and Lockport also had eight individuals score. Team cuts down its turnovers in home victory Randy Whalen Freelance Reporter Balance beat boom. The Lockport Township girls basketball team continued its nice start to the season last week by using another balanced scoring attack to hold off Richards 50-46 in an early season battle of unbeaten teams in a matinee special Nov. 22 at Lockport. Taylor Hopkins had 13 points, Taylor Shingler scored 10 and Destiny Davis added nine points. But the all-senior Lockport trio’s 32 combined points was just one more than Bulldog Halle Idowu’s 31 points. The 5-foot- 10 sophomore swing player scored 20 points in the fourth quarter alone, but it wasn’t enough, as the Porters (3-0) held on to win. “She’s a great ballplayer, and they can score,” Lockport coach Dan Kelly said of Idowu and Richards. “But we worked a ton on being organized. We knew we had to cut down on our turnovers [34 in the previous game, a 47-41 win against Downers Grove North]. Our goal was 20, and we had 18, We’d still like to get it down to 10 to 15 per game.” The Porters did have some turnovers down the stretch “Everyone can contribute. The other team isn’t able to focus on one player. We don’t get as tired because we can all trust each other, including the players off the bench.” Taylor Shingler — Lockport girls basketball player, on her team’s depth but were able to hold on. They led 38-24 after three quarters, only to see that lead cut to 42-36 with 4:19 to play in the game. But things looked to be in good hands when Shingler found junior forward Cailey Schlink on a nice pass underneath for layup and a 48-38 lead with 1:12 to play. “Our coach says keep the ball moving,” Shingler said. “Everyone can contribute. The other team isn’t able to focus on one player. We don’t get as tired because we can all trust each other, including the players off the bench.” The one player on the other team had other ideas, however, as Idowu nailed a 3-pointer and followed that with a steal and layup. She was fouled on the play but missed the free throw with 46.2 seconds remaining, leaving the score at 48-43. Hopkins scored a layup with 32 seconds left to restore the advantage to seven. Idowu, who scored all her team’s points in the fourth quarter except for a rebound basket by senior guard Christine Philemy, answered with a 26-foot 3-pointer from the left wing with just over 16 seconds remaining. Following a timeout, the Porters were able to run 10 seconds off the clock. Although they missed a free throw at the sixsecond mark, it was too late, as Richards miss fired a final shot at the buzzer. Lockport had nine different players score, including sophomore center Jenna Cotter with six points. “We have a lot of kids that can play,” Kelly said. “We have a lot of players that contribute without scoring.” Hopkins scored five points in the first quarter, which Destiny Davis scored nine points for the Porters in the team’s win over Richards on Nov. 22 in Lockport. 22nd Century Media File Photo ended in a 13-13 tie. The Porters pulled out to a 22- 18 halftime lead, as Shingler scored six in the opening half. With Lockport ahead 29-24 midway through the third quarter, Shingler had four straight points, and junior guard Payton Grcevic capped a 9-0 burst with a 3-pointer, as the Porters opened up the 14-point lead. Shingler, a softball standout and center fielder for the Porters this past spring, will attend Maryville University in St. Louis for softball next fall. But she’s certainly enjoying another season of basketball this winter. “It’s fun,” Shingler said of the season so far. “We have a lot of young girls, and it’s fun to mix with them. We’ve just all come together to help the team. I just like how well we all play with each other. We’re all friends, and we pick each other up on and off the court.” Long before any of the current players were born, Lockport actually played Richards in the 1986 Class AA state quarterfinals. There, Richards rallied in the second half for a 47-46 victory. The Bulldogs went on to finish fourth in the state. The Porters resumed play this week with a pair of nonconference road games, first on Monday, Nov. 27, at Joliet West, and then on Saturday, Dec. 2, at 2:30 p.m. at Minooka. A good local test for Lockport will be on Tuesday, Dec. 5 with a 6:30 p.m. game against Lincoln-Way West in New Lenox. LISTEN UP “We had some good looks around the basket, but we missed too many easy shots, too many layups. We have to learn how to finish around the basket. That will come the more we play, but we have to find a way to score.” Brett Hespell — Lockport boys basketball coach, after his team’s defeat to the Celtics in the opener Tune In Boys Basketball Wrangling with Warriors — 6:30 p.m. Friday, Dec. 1, at Lincoln-Way West • The Lockport boys basketball team travels to New Lenox for its first true road game of the season. Index 42 - This Week In 42 - Athlete of the Week FASTBREAK is compiled by Contributing Editor Thomas Czaja, tom@homerhorizon.com.
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